Adventures on the "Chicken Bus"

It is halfway through the our first full week at work and getting there has been somewhat of an adventure. Every morning, we catch the local bus from the main bus terminal. Most buses here are converted school buses that are painted with bright colours. We have been warned about the buses here in Guatemala, nicknamed "chicken buses", because commuters bring whatever they can, such as laundry, plants, tires, bicycles and yes, sometimes chickens! But the one thing that we always heard, and what worried us the most, was how fast these buses go (nothing like our tame buses back home in Canada).

The first morning, we boarded the bus with our now fellow Guatemantecos. The bus was half empty so we had plenty of space...and there were no chickens! We thought this was a good start. The bus also travelled at a slow pace, trudging along as it picked up stray passengers on the way. This seemed like it was going to be a breeze for us and we sat back to enjoy the scenes of Antigua as they slowly passed us by. Perhaps what we heard about Guatemalan buses were just rumours. But as the driver picked up more passengers, the bus started to get pretty full. Pretty soon, the bus was jammed with people standing in the aisles and baskets of food spilling from the over-head compartments. A large man decided that the tiny 2-seat bench that we were sitting on can really fit 3 people. As Steve's new "friend"squeezed in and the bus became jammed to capacity, the driver suddenly kicked into a higher gear. All of a sudden, we started racing through the streets of Antigua, narrowly missing pedestrians, cars and the odd tuk-tuk!

Our bus ride suddenly became a rollar coaster and Sandra firmly gripped the handle bars with both hands. Steve decided to make a snide remark, which he regretted when the bus leaped over a bump and he shot up a couple of feet in the air! To top it off, the bus was so full that we couldn't see where we had to get off. Steve reached for the bell but Sandra reminded him that he was no longer in Canada. Since there are really no bus stops, we made a guess and told the driver where we wanted to get off. The bus came to a "rolling stop"and we had to leap off before the bus sped off to its next destination. Unfortunately, when we looked around, we guessed wrong and ended up walking 30 min to our work...what a great start to our first day of work!

If that adventure wasn't enough, the next day Sandra had to go to a meeting but the bus was so full that she couldn't get a seat. In fact, she couldn't even get inside the bus so she had to hang off the second step! She always wanted the wind in her hair but she never imagined it would happen while riding off the side of a chicken bus!

We feel relieved and exhilarated when we come home after our chicken bus adventures. One day, as we got off the bus feeling kind of whoozy, one elderly Guatemalan gentleman, who probably felt sorry for us, gave us a warm smile. We smiled back, admiring his shirt that said "World's Best Grandma". And so ends another day in Guatemala.